I'm starting to realize my weakness for music that would have rewired my world when I was 17 or 18 (ca. 1925). And although I'm starting to curse how ever I learned about this insanely hooky song, I confess that — ala "Since U Been Gone" — it's inhabited my brain pan without rest since I first heard it yesterday. (No, friends I don't follow the pop music so I'm just learning about positively ancient song now.)
And so it begins. To those of you who posted my plea for stories I thank you - and to those of you who still may (hint hint - I could use a few more memories!) thank you as well. Or send in your own! Most of you I know in person, and you have regaled me with numerous amusing holiday anecdotes - why not share with a larger even more appreciative audience? (Although not as good looking or sweet-smelling as I.)
I need your help!
Please consider submitting a story and/or posting the link to my plea wherever you blog or post things of this nature.
I'd like to get enough stories I can make the main focus the memories with illustrations etc. and make the other content the supporting material - because I think it would be more compelling that way, but I'll need a fully loaded calendar to make that work, so the more eyeballs I can get my request in front of the better. Thanks so much to those of you who see fit to blog my appeal.
It occured to me as I was driving past the garden center today that I have a house perfect for putting outdoor lights on. As someone who has been an apartment dweller through my entire adulthood, the prospect was both scary and exciting. So I ordered a ton of pine rope, some bigass red ribbon and grabeed a few strands of all white non blinking outdoor lights. My lawn dudes, for a surprisingly modest fee ($25/hour for two guys, their estimate was one hour), put up and take down decorations it turns out, and so I will engage them, photos to come. I made a fire tonight after dinner and it started to sink in that this lifestyle is more of a change than I bargained for. Not better or worse, but different for sure.
Will be a list of 1237 reasons why this woman makes my head want to explode. Every comment she posts takes me to a new level of incredulity. First it's because 68 cents isn't a big deal to a big store like Walmart. Then they're against families because her son was arrested previously by Walmart for stealing Pokemon cards so to prove Walmart hates famllies she stole a candybar so Walmart would arrest her, proving how evil they are because "she's not to steal, generally." If this is a troll - best troll ever. I can barely pick a favorite comment from her:
My son is only nine years old, while I admit stealing is wrong, I also think they were to harsh on him. He was up in his room crying for almost an hour because the big men scared him. The other boy with him was not arrested even though it was his idea, I took the chocolate bar to prove a point. I finally gave my son a popsicle to calm him down and help him feel better because a big company is bullying him.
...it was a matter over 68 cents and i have a criminal record over 68 cents because they don't care about the customer.
I don't even need to state the obvious here. She does it better than I ever could.
I have considered this numberous times, in fact made a game of it at some point, A co-worker at Topps many moons ago named Mark got my best effort - I thought his auto bio should be called "Mark, My words."
Mine however would more closely reflect the spirit rather than the content of my life. Some samples:
- Autiobiography of Well Meaning Autodidact.
- Autodidactics, Automobiles, Autonomy and Personal Autarky: An Autobio
- Table for two, Kingdom of one: My Life as an Autocrat.
- Autonym: They named me Leslie, but you may call me Peaches.
- The Little Engine that Could, but Just Didn't Feel Like It: Confessions of an Underachiever.
- Am I Still Smiling? My Life as a hard working Optimist.
- I Lied, It Sucked, (the truth about Leslie)
- 29 Great Years and Then Some other Stuff.
- Peaked in High School: A memoir
- Most Hated: A failed attempt at becoming notorious.
- Don't Stop Loving Me!
- Moisturizer, Music and Medication: Unnatural Living with Leslie
- My Autobiography: The Great American Pamphlet
Tonight, I was supposed to be dedicating myself fully to a client project that asks full time and weekends in order to meet a preposterous deadline, and yet I was spotted at the Beacon East Movie Theater, a scant 10 blocks from my home purchasing popcorn and a ticket for the Borat movie. Devious, yes, but worth every second of guilt I almost felt.
In the complaints department, I have a heel spur, which means it hurts to both stand and walk on it, AND when it's just sitting on the floor not bothing anyeone. No llike!
An apartment in Paris and a loft in NYC would be ideal, and if picking just one I'd choose NYC, even more specifically, the top floor of the Piano building, on W. 46th St. -- once a piano factory, now lovely lofts. I like Chelsea and all, but Hell's Kitchen is still my favorite neighborhood. I'm pretty confident I'll move back to NYC in the next few years, although suburban life has its charms, I suspect there will come a point I feel m work here is done.
One of the big upsides of the burbs is trick or treaters. I had 187 kids and would have had more but just before 8:30, I ran out of candy. Twelve huge Costco break room sized bags! I heard turnout around here was good, so I thought a dozen bags was more than enough, but no, it seems I under prepared. Probably because the neighborhood is notoriously safe, and the first town heading north from Detroit parents bring their kids from the city by the van load. I forgot how excited kids could look at the prospect of free candy. They were exuberent in wishing me a Happy Halloween and shouting "Thank you!" as they'd race down my porch steps and toward the next house. You don't see that in the city so much, as parents keep shorter leashes on their kids and opt for parties in lieu of door to door solicitations for sugary snacks. I was relieved there was no candy left for me, although in retrospect, I was secretly hoping a few Tootside Rolls and Reese's cups would be left over. I was more than happy to part with the more traditional candy bars - Pixie Stix, Milky Ways, Snickers and a variety of Nestle's crunch. Yeah, I gave out the good candy. And not those teeny Halloween 1" cubes either, but the almost but not quite full sized kind. I'm not going to lie, I wanted to be one of the "good" houses.
Next year I'm taking my candy vig off the top.
